The Great Egg Harbor River is a 55-mile-long river flowing through the pristine Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey. Known locally as the Great Egg, this designated National Wild and Scenic River drains 308 square miles of wetlands before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean at Great Egg Harbor. The river's name comes from Dutch explorer Cornelius Jacobsen May, who in 1614 found the meadows so covered with shorebird and waterfowl eggs that he called it Eyren Haven (Egg Harbor). The river is characterized by its distinctive tea-colored cedar water, a result of iron and tannin from fallen cedar leaves. The Great Egg is the longest canoeable river in the Pinelands, offering excellent fishing opportunities in an ecosystem that supports diverse fish populations. Its proximity to urban centers like Philadelphia, Trenton, Camden, and Wilmington makes it an important recreational destination while still providing a wilderness experience through undisturbed forests and scenic waterways.